DR Congo set date for Sébastien Desabre’s 2026 World Cup squad announcement

The Congolese Football Federation (Fecofa) has confirmed that coach Sébastien Desabre will announce his squad for the 2026 World Cup on Monday, 18 May, marking a key milestone in DR Congo’s preparations for the tournament.

DR Congo secured their place at the World Cup following qualification via the intercontinental play-offs against Jamaica in March, earning a return to the competition 52 years after their only previous appearance.

The Leopards have been drawn in Group K, where they will face Portugal on 17 June, Colombia on 24 June, and Uzbekistan on 28 June.

The squad list of 26 players will be revealed at 14:00 local time via Fecofa’s official social media platforms, with supporters expected to follow closely as anticipation builds ahead of the tournament.

A week later, Desabre will hold a press conference on Monday, 25 May, at 10:00 at Fecofa headquarters, where he is expected to explain his selection decisions and outline his expectations for the squad.

In terms of preparation, DR Congo will play two warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup. The first will take place on 3 June against Denmark in Liège, Belgium, followed by a second fixture against Chile on 9 June in Marbella, Spain.

Before departing for those matches, the national team will also hold an open training session on 26 May at the Tata Raphaël Stadium in Kinshasa, giving supporters a chance to engage with the squad.

Desabre has previously indicated that he does not expect major changes to his group, suggesting continuity with the squad that reached the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

This has led to questions over the possible return of several players, including Gédéon Kalulu, Gaël Kakuta, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, and Samuel Essende, who were absent from the March fixtures after the AFCON campaign.

Attention is also focused on potential new additions, including Jorthy Mokio, who has reportedly changed sporting nationality to represent DR Congo, although eligibility concerns remain due to his involvement with Belgium in 2025.

Afimico Pululu, who has scored 19 goals this season for Jagiellonia Białystok in Poland, is also being monitored and could feature in the preliminary squad.

Midfielder Warren Bondo, currently on loan at Cremonese from AC Milan, is another name under consideration after opting to represent DR Congo ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Defensively, Desabre will also be monitoring the fitness of Rocky Bushiri following his recent injury while playing for Hibernian, with the coach hoping to avoid further setbacks ahead of the squad announcement.

[📢 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄 🐆]

La liste officielle des Léopards 🇨🇩 pour la Coupe du Monde 2026 sera dévoilée ce lundi 18 mai à 14h sur les canaux officiels de la FECOFA, par le sélectionneur-manager Sébastien Desabre.

🎙️ La conférence de presse de début de stage se… pic.twitter.com/tHsQMAL8ZF

— Fecofa RDC_Officiel (@FecofaRdc) May 15, 2026